Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (often abbreviated as "MMPR") is a live-action television and movie series, based on the Super Sentai series Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, literally Dinosaur Squadron Beast Ranger and often abbreviated as Zyuranger (after the Kunrei-shiki romanization). The Super Sentai genre was already one of Japan's hottest tokusatsu properties. The show first aired on Fox Kids on August 28, 1993, and ended on February 10, 1996. Disney is planning to digitally remaster and rebroadcast it starting January 2, 2010 on ABC Kids. Although it was a children's series, it became known as one of the cultural icons representing the 1990s. The theme music, "Go Go Power Rangers," was often parodied, and many of its subsequent incarnations contain the words "Go" or "Power Rangers" in their theme music. The various Power Rangers over the years have been replaced, partly based on evolving storylines, and partly because the actors behind these characters were rumored to be holding out for greater pay. Synopsis Long ago, the ancient wizard Zordon did battle with the evil witch Rita Repulsa. After long years of battle, he managed to defeat her in a game by using five magic coins. As punishment for her loss, she was sealed in a canister on Planet Nemesis, a planet that travels close to Earth every 10,000 years. However, before being sealed away, Rita trapped Zordon in a time warp, preventing him from participating in further battle against her. Millennia later, Rita and her minions escaped their prison thanks to two unaware astronauts, and set out to conquer Earth. Zordon, desperate to stop her, had his assistant Alpha 5 recruit five "teenagers with attitude" to do battle with her. They were granted the powers of the dinosaurs, and became Power Rangers. After several battles, Rita created an evil Power Ranger using a magic coin of her own, infused with the power of the Dragon. This Green Ranger caused major damage to her foes, until he was freed from her control by the other Rangers. Grateful, and now burdened with responsibility, he joined the Power Rangers. Following several more defeats, Rita's fortress was invaded by Lord Zedd. Disgusted with her failure, he took over and sealed her away again, launching his own campaign against the Power Rangers. Despite his defeat of the Green Ranger, he was unable to beat the Rangers' new powers of the mythical beasts (their new Thunder powers). Things were complicated by the creation of the White Ranger, and the return of Rita, who gave Zedd a love potion. It was later discovered, after Zedd took an antidote, that he loved her anyway. Rito Revolto later came to Earth and managed to destroy the Rangers' previous powers. Undaunted, they sought the aid of Ninjor, creator of the powers, who gave them the new Ninja powers. After several more battles, Zedd and Rita were joined by Rita's father, Master Vile. Following his failed attempts to defeat the Rangers, he turned back time, Turning the Rangers into Powerless Children and eliminating the threat of Ninjor. These events culminated in Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, leading up to Power Rangers: Zeo. Characters Power Rangers Alien Rangers Allies * Zordon * Alpha 5 * Ninjor * Farkas "Bulk" Bulkmeier * Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch * Lt. Stone * Masked Rider Villains * Rita Repulsa * Lord Zedd * Master Vile * Goldar * Scorpina * Rito Revolto * Squatt * Baboo * Finster * Lokar Monsters * List of Mighty Morphin 1 Monsters * List of Mighty Morphin 2 Monsters * List of Mighty Morphin 3 Monsters Arsenal * Power Morphers: Morphers used by Power Rangers, powered by magic coins. * Dragon Dagger: Weapon of Green Dino/Dragon Ranger, used to summon and control Dragonzord. * Blade Blaster: Standardized Ranger weapon, can be used as blaster or short sword. * Saba: Talking sword of the White Tiger Ranger, used to summon/control White Tigerzord. Also has the ability to fly and fire laser blasts from his eyes. * Shark Cycles: Shark-themed motorcycles used for rough terrain. * Metallic Armor: Special armor created for battling the new-and-improved Tenga Warriors. Enhances the Rangers' speed, strength & resistance to injury or magic spells * Power Cannon: Giant bazooka that fires loadable spheres of energy. * Power Weapons: Assortment of weapons individualized by each Ranger, can combine into the Power Blaster for powerful attacks. Jason (later Rocky) had the Power Sword, Trini (later Aisha) had the Power Daggers, Billy had the Power Lance, Kimberly (later Kat) had the Power Bow, and Zack (later Adam) had the Power Axe. * Sword of Power * Sword of Light: A sword that acts as a transfer conduit for the powers. * Sword of Darkness: A weapon temporarily wielded by the Green Ranger. Zords Season One * Dinozords ** Tyrannosaurus Dinozord (Jason/Red) ** Mastodon Dinozord (Zack/Black) ** Triceratops Dinozord (Billy/Blue) ** Saber-Toothed Tiger Dinozord (Trini/Yellow) ** Pterodactyl Dinozord (Kimberly/Pink) * Dino Megazord (combination of Dinozords) * Dragonzord (Tommy/Green) * Dragonzord Battle Mode (combination of Dragonzord, Mastodon, Triceratops and Saber-Toothed Tiger Dinozords) * Mega Dragonzord (combination of Dino Megazord & Dragonzord) * Titanus the Carrierzord * Dino Ultrazord (combination of Mega Dragonzord & Titanus) Season Two * Thunderzords ** Red Dragon Thunderzord (Jason then Rocky)(Red) ** Lion Thunderzord (Zack then Adam)(Black) ** Unicorn Thunderzord (Billy/Blue) ** Griffin Thunderzord (Trini then Aisha)(Yellow) ** Firebird Thunderzord (Kimberly/Pink) * Thunder Megazord (combination of Thunderzords) * White Tigerzord (Tommy/White) * Mega Tigerzord (combination of 4 Thunderzords & White Tigerzord) * Tor the Shuttlezord/Carrier Zord * Thunder Ultrazord (combination of Thunderzords, White Tigerzord & Tor) Season Three * Ninjazords ** Falconzord (Tommy/White) ** Ape Ninjazord (Rocky/Red) ** Frog Ninjazord (Adam/Black) ** Wolf Ninjazord (Billy/Blue) ** Bear Ninjazord (Aisha/Yellow) ** Crane Ninjazord (Kimberly then Kat) (Pink) * Ninja Megazord/Ninja Megafalconzord (combination of Ninjazords, with or without Falconzord) * Ninja Ultrazord (combination of Ninja Megafalconzord & Titanus) * Shogunzords ** White Shogunzord (Tommy/Kimberly) then (Tommy/Kat) (White/Pink) ** Red Shogunzord (Rocky/Red) ** Black Shogunzord (Adam/Black) ** Blue Shogunzord (Billy/Blue) ** Yellow Shogunzord (Aisha/Yellow) ** Pink Shogunzord (Existed in Toyline only) * Shogun Megazord (combination of Shogunzords) * Shogun Megafalconzord (combination of Shogun Megazord & Falconzord) * Shogun Ultrazord (combination of Shogun Megafalconzord & Titanus) Episode Guide Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers Trivia * There are a total of seven rangers (by color) with only a maximum of six appearing at one time. However, the episodes with the clone Tommy, Tom Oliver, allow for there being seven ranger colors in one show, although they don't all appear onscreen at the same time. * The Ranger's Power Weapons, Power Axe, Power Bow, Power Lance, Power Daggers, and Power Sword were only used in Season 1 of the show. However, in Season 2's Goldar's Vice-Versa, Billy used his Power Lance, in Season 2's "Scavenger Hunt", the Rangers used the Power Blaster, and in Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, Adam returned in "Once A Ranger" and used his Power Axe. * Due to the unforeseen popularity of the series, Saban Entertainment, the company that produced Power Rangers, was faced with the possibility of exhausting all of its Zyuranger footage with no more to fall back upon in order to continue producing the show. The company contacted Toei (the company which produced/produces the Sentai series in Japan) as well as Rainbow Productions (the company that designed and produced the monster suits), requesting another half-season's worth of Zyuranger footage...specifically for Power Rangers. The two Japanese companies agreed, creating around 25 brand-new monsters and filming both human- and zord-sized battle footage for each, as well as incorporating elements from MMPR into the footage (a relationship between the Green and Pink Ranger and the Blue Ranger as the brains of the group being the most obvious examples). These monsters are collectively known in the Power Rangers fan community as "Zyu2," a term coined by Power Rangers fan Chris Funaro. Around this time, Saban was also negotiating a deal with Toei to acquire footage from Gosei Sentai Dairanger, the sentai series which followed Zyuranger. Saban used more than half of the Zyu2 costumes in the remainder of Season One of Power Rangers. When they decided to replace the Dinozords with the mecha from Dairanger in Season Two (termed Thunderzords in Power Rangers), the Zord footage of the remaining Zyu2 monsters became obsolete. To compensate for this, Saban attempted to splice the Zyu2 and Dairanger footage to ensure that the Zyu2 monsters were not seen fighting with the old Megazord that was not supposed to be there. In other words, it would show only the monster attacking followed by a shot of just the Thunderzords taking the damage. This did not always work, for occasionally the monster could actually be seen making physical contact with the old Megazord. * "Bones", was the name of the first monster to ever battle the Power Rangers in the inception of the series. Although in the lost episode (the original Pilot), they battled "King Sphinx", and Sphinx appeared again in the episode titled, "A Pressing Engagement." * Billy Cranson (David Yost) wears blue plaid boxer shorts. In the episode "Power Ranger Punks," Billy (David Yost) and Kimberly (Amy Jo Johnson) become punks after drinking Rita's potion. Viewers can see the top of Billy's boxer shorts in his punk outfit, which is a blue plaid pattern. However, after the spell is removed by Alpha and Zordon, Billy immediately notices this and hides the top of his boxer shorts from sight. * Lord Zedd is the first American-made villain that is only part of Power Rangers and not the Sentai Series. Others villans that would follow this are Divatox, Astronema, Scorpius, and Trakeena. But after Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue ended, each of the following series used a U.S.-original villain as the main villain and occasionally one of the other villains as well (Master Org of Power Rangers: Wild Force is an exception since the costume came from Dairanger, even though he did not exist in Gaoranger, the sentai that Power Rangers Wild Force was based upon). * The suits of several monsters were modified in some fashion in order to create new monsters for American footage. Such monsters were. * Pudgy Pig was disassembled, and parts were used for Turkey Jerk in Season Two's "Storybook Rangers." * Mr. Ticklesneezer was repainted and clad in a Santa Claus-like suit, becoming Grumble the Elf in Season Two's "Storybook Rangers." * Snizard was repainted and modified with a cobra hood to become the Cobra Monster in Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue's "The Cobra Strikes." * Chunky Chicken was also disassembled for use in Turkey Jerk. * Grumble Bee was repainted and given buck teeth to become Waspicable in Power Rangers: In Space's "The Wasp with a Heart." * Primator was repainted and given extra fur, and became the Snow Monster in Season Two's "Storybook Rangers." * Salaguana was disassembled into the reptillian parts of Triter from Power Rangers: Zeo's "King for a Day." * Silver Horns was repainted and a tongue was added, becoming Repellator in Season Three's "A Friend in Need." * Merrick the Barbaric's head was removed, and his body was used for Incisorator in the Season Three episode "Changing of the Zords, Part II." Ironically, Incisorator's episode aired before Merrick's. * The expression "Morphinomenal!" was coined by Kimberly Ann Hart * Similarly, "It's Morphin Time!" was first spoken by Zordon. * The expression "Back To Action" was coined by Jason Lee Scott * The Ninja and Shogun Ultrazords are the only Zord formations in Power Rangers history that are made from American footage. No suits or props were used in making them; the Bandai toys of each Zord were used to bring them to life on the show. The American versions of the toys were used for this, which presented some problems as the American versions are often noticeably different than the Japanese versions (and thus, the actual Zords on the show). For example, the left arm of the Japanese Shogun Megazord toy (and the real Shogun Megazord) is white. For some reason, the left arm of the Shogun Megazord toy was repainted pink for the American version. Thus, the arm would suddenly switch colors whenever the Shogun Ultrazord was formed. * According to the "Reality Check" PSA of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Amy Jo Johnson, David Yost, and both their respective characters are accomplished martial artists and gymnasts. * Six video games based on this show were produced, one for Sega Genesis, one for Sega CD, one for Sega Game Gear, two for Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Fighting Edition), and one for Game Boy. * Billy, the original Blue Ranger, has the distinction of being the only Ranger to hold the same position for the longest time (3 years, 1993-1996) without ever switching colors, a record yet to be surpassed. Similarly, he is the only original Power Ranger to appear in every episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and remain there from the start to the end of the MMPR generation. * Being the original series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers also the most favorite of all Power Rangers fans, winning a viewer contest conducted by ABC Family in 2004, receiving the most votes. * The original series has the distinction of being the longest-running incarnation lasting for three years (1993-1996), with the longest running single main continuity, lasting til Power Rangers Zeo, Power Rangers Turbo, and Power Rangers In Space. * Aaron Waters composed and wrote the original Power Rangers theme song, a full length, 4 minute long track used for promotion. It's title is "Go Go Power Rangers". The theme 'go' would appear in almost all subsequent Power Ranger songs. * As is commonly known now, despite the Yellow Ranger being a female within Power Rangers, in "Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger" the Yellow (or Tiger) Ranger , named Boi/Boy, was male. Due to this there is an obvious change in the physique of the Yellow team member when the show cuts to Sentai footage. (This is most notable within Season 1 ) * The order in which the Ninja Zords and Shogun Zords were aquired was reversed in Power Rangers. In the original source of those two Zord sets, "Ninja Sentai Kakuranger", the 'Shogun Zords' were gained before the 'Ninja Zords'. In the same way, since there were only five Rangers in Kakuranger, the Falcon Zord was a separate entity not belonging to anyone of them. Ninjaman/Ninjor didn't need a 'Zord' since he could grow Zord-size. See also *Mighty Morphin 1 *Mighty Morphin 2 *Mighty Morphin 3 *Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers References * Power Rangers | Teams | Mighty Morphin de:Mighty Morphin fr:Mighty Morphin Category:Season Category:Power Rangers Team